THE CIVIL WEDDING

The wedding ceremony was be performed by the Mayor of Amsterdam, Mr. M.J. (Job) Cohen, in his capacity as special registrar. The ceremony took place from 10:15 to 10:45am at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam and was attended by about 650 people. The Beurs van Berlage, formerly the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, was commissioned by the municipality of Amsterdam and was opened on 27 May 1903 by Queen Wilhelmina in the presence of Queen-Mother Emma and Prince Hendrik. The building was named after its architect, Hendrik Petrus Berlage. The architect wanted the building to perform the function of a palazzo pubblico, a palace for everyone where, in his own words, the community and art come together.

The guests for the civil Wedding arrived at the Beurs van Berlage coming from the nearby Palace on the Dam Square. Bride and groom were driven in a Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith Limousine Landaulette with the registration number AA-58. This special automobile was purchased in 1957 by Queen Juliana. It is the only left-hand drive Rolls-Royce Landaulette in existence. The word ‘Landaulette’ means that the rear part of the roof can be folded down. The car has been used mainly for state visits, being used for the first time for the state visit to the Netherlands by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, on 20 March 1958. Princess Beatrix and Prince Claus also used the Rolls-Royce on their tour of Dutch provinces and towns following their engagement in the autumn of 1965. At the end of the 1970s it was decided that the Rolls-Royce would no longer be used for official occasions. In the early 1980s the car moved to the specialist automotive company Autobedrijf Meijers in Utrecht, where it began a new lease of life. The limousine was leased for this special day.

The ceremony of the civil marriage took place in the grand Commodity Exchange. In this room the mighty consoles of granite and sandstone, the curved line of which is continued in the cast-iron trusses, provide an enormous sense of space. The numerous apertures in the brick walls, the glass roof and the many shades of brown, yellow and red also give the hall a sense of warmth. Nowadays exhibitions on architecture, design and art are held in the southern part of the Beurs van Berlage. Over 500 events a year are held in the remaining rooms and halls, but this was the first wedding ever celebrated at the building.

The Mayor's Speech
(starting in English)
Bride and Bridegroom,
Your Majesty,
Prince Claus,
Members of the Zorreguieta family,
Your Majesty,
Your Royal Highnesses,
Family,
Prime Minister,
Honoured guests,

Bienvenido a todos. I welcome you all to Amsterdam on this very special occasion of the wedding of Miss Máxima Zorreguieta and His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange.

Unfortunately for our English and Spanish speaking guests we will, as you may understand, speak Dutch. But actually, it is quite simple. In Dutch, the English word ‘yes’ and the Spanish word ‘si’, are pronounced as ‘ja’, so it should not be too difficult for you to understand the most important part of this ceremony.

(continuing in Dutch)
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At this very important moment in the lives of Prince William-Alexander and Máxima Zorreguieta we have gathered at a very characteristic place in Amsterdam - the capital of our country, the city which for the second time is hosting the wedding of an heir to the throne. This time it is the Beurs van Berlage, symbol of Amsterdam architecture, built a century ago at the dawn of a new era.

Dear Bride and Bridegroom,
Naturally, I welcome you in particular, along with your family and friends. A wedding ceremony, usually a private occasion, is in your case also a public event; apart from those present here there are still quite a few more people watching - in the Netherlands and abroad. They, too, feel involved and are with you in their thoughts. Your marriage, which is based on your love for one another and your wish to continue through life together, is much more than a private matter. It is also an event of public interest, now that the United Assembly of the States General has given their consent in accordance with Article 28 of the Constitution. This consent confirms the public responsibility both of you will bear. This marriage ceremony is therefore also the affirmation of a commitment to an entire country.

You, the Bridegroom, are accustomed to the fact that your life will always be a public life. For you, the Bride, this is still relatively new, although in recent months you have had an opportunity to sample what this implies.

You, the Bridegroom, grew up in the public eye, so you know how important it is to have the time and opportunity to also lead a private life. This private time is an essential prerequisite for functioning well in public life. After your school and student days you gradually took on more tasks, and you became increasingly proficient at integrating public tasks into your life. We realise that the marriage you are entering into today, with the woman you have chosen and who has chosen you, will be of vital importance in continuously striking a delicate balance between private and public life - imperative for someone in your position. The degree to which you will succeed in this endeavour will have significance not only for you but also for the entire nation.

Water has played a major role in your life. You fulfilled your national service in the Royal Dutch Navy and you have devoted yourself in recent years to water management in our own country as well as abroad. And in the process you have opened the eyes of many to the immense importance of this issue. But your interests are not focused on running water alone; it appears that you are equally fond of frozen water. In 1986 you completed the Frisian Elfstedentocht (Eleven-City Ice-Skating Race) - and you still enjoy skating. In fact, it was on the ‘thin ice’ of Palace Huis ten Bosch - which is also the reason why we are gathered here today - that you proposed to your princess. In short, you are a man of the water and, to lend further credence to this premise, it was pointed out to me that today the stars are in the sign of Aquarius.

Dear Bride,
I would like to take a moment to address you specifically. In so doing, I am aware of the fact that shortly - with the rap of the gavel - I will have created the condition that will enable you to call yourself not only the princess of your prince, but also Princess of The Netherlands and Princess of Orange-Nassau. For the casual onlooker this may appear very desirable, something from a fairy-tale. But you have personally experienced that this position also imposes painful limitations on you, also today.

When you became acquainted with Amsterdam a few months ago, we showed you the theatre ‘Hollandsche Schouwburg’, the place where during the Second World War Jewish residents of the city were gathered prior to being deported to concentration camps. Before you left the Hollandsche Schouwburg, you wrote the following words: "Let the twenty-first century be one of forgiveness ... but let us never forget." With these words you have given us as much as with your warm smile, with which you also stole our hearts.

People who have seen the vast pampas of your country - the immensity of its space - are able to realise what an enormous transition it must be to move to this small, densely populated, often wet country in which, moreover, you will be living in a glass house as it were. We hope that you will come to love this occasionally bothersome but also very likeable country just as much as our Crown prince and that you, a modern, young woman, will be able to move forward at your own pace, and not at the pace of a golden coach so to speak. After all, you have already spent a number of years working in the international business community where you displayed talents that warrant further development. It is in tune with today’s world that the wife of the future king is given the freedom to spread her wings, to keep developing according to her own views - as a ministerial advertising campaign once phrased it: ‘a smart girl prepares for her future’. The amazing speed with which you have mastered our language and managed to win a place in our midst makes us confident that you will find tasks that are suited to you and your many talents, and that will give you satisfaction. Your new fellow-countrymen and women, for their part, will have to give you the opportunity to do so; I hope and expect that they will do this wholeheartedly.

Wedding Ceremony
We shall now commence with the wedding ceremony. I kindly request you to stand up, to hold each other’s right hand and to answer the questions I will put forth to both of you.

Your Royal Highness, William-Alexander, Claus, George, Ferdinand, Prince of Orange, Prince of The Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau, Jonkheer Van Amsberg, do you declare to take Máxima Zorreguieta to be your wife, and do you pledge to fulfil all the duties legally connected with the state of matrimony.

What is your answer?

The Prince of Orange: "Ja" (loud applause)

Máxima Zorreguieta, do you declare to take William-Alexander, Claus, George, Ferdinand, Prince of Orange, Prince of The Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau, Jonkheer Van Amsberg to be your husband, and do you pledge to fulfil all the duties legally connected with the state of matrimony.

What is your answer?

Máxima Zorreguieta: "Ja" (loud applause)

As the registrar of the City of Amsterdam I declare that you are joined together in matrimony as husband and wife.

Mr. Cohen confirms the marriage with a rap of the gavel and congratulates bride and groom.

Dear Newlyweds, Prince and Princess!
In my, still rather short, term of office as registrar of the City of Amsterdam I learned that I have one very special privilege, namely to be the first to extend my wishes for happiness to the newly married couple and their family. I do so from the bottom of my heart.

I have come to know you as two outgoing people who do not hide their joy of having found each other. Today you are radiating the love that has been expressed so beautifully in a poem attributed to the Argentine writer, Jorge Luis Borges: el amor da brillo a nuestros ojos, musica a nuestros labios, saltos a nuestros pies; love makes our eyes shine, our lips sing and our feet dance. Enjoy this day to the fullest. Shine, sing and dance! You are entering a new stage of life together and I hope that it will bring you great happiness and joy.

Bride and groom sign the matrimonial certificate and the marriage certificate. Bride and groom don't have to stand up for it, as a special table was designed that was rolled to them. Then the witnesses are asked to sign the matrimonial certificate: first Queen Beatrix and Prince Constantijn, then Marcela Cerruti and Frank Houben and finally Martin Zorreguieta and Marc ter Haar. The last ones make everybody laugh by making a joking gesture to bride and groom. Also the Mayor Mr. Cohen signed the certificates. Afterwards he handed over the marriage certificate to bride and groom.

The City of Amsterdam would like to present you with a gift. We asked a number of Dutch poets who previously have won the Herman Gorter Prize - a prize awarded annually by the City of Amsterdam - to write a poem inspired by your wedding. We hope that these poems in turn may inspire you in your future life.

And now you will be proceeding from here, the Beurs van Berlage, to the New Church, from merchants to clergy. You know that the close ties between these two have greatly shaped our country. I wish you a magnificent day and a long, loving life together.

Bride, groom and family go to the Toorop Hall for a short moment together.